Favorite Books I Learned the Most From in 2023 on Leadership & Inclusion

To support lifelong learning, I read A LOT of books, articles, and blogs. In 2024, I set a goal to read 40 books annually. Reading, for me, includes reading a physical book or e-book and also listening to audiobooks. To keep track of which books I have read, I keep a list in a Google Docs spreadsheet. I also recommend books of interest in my monthly newsletter.

➡️ SEE All my book recommendations

10 books I learned the most from in 2024

Leadership

I frequently read books about business and leadership because I often use the lessons in my consulting practice or when I am teaching leadership development or coaching my clients.

TomorrowMind: Thriving at Work—Now and in an Uncertain Future

Campfire Lessons for Leaders

Leading with Emotional Courage by Peter Bregman
This author was recommended in a differerentt book that I read this year. I listened to this great book recently and enjoyed the lessons as I apply this work to coaching and leadership! "Leading with Emotional Courage, based on the author’s popular blogs for Harvard Business Review, provides practical, real-world advice for building your emotional courage muscle. Each short, easy to read chapter details a distinct step in this emotional “workout,” giving you grounded advice for handling the difficult situations without sacrificing professional ground. By building the courage to say the necessary but difficult things, you become a stronger leader and leave the “should’ves” behind."

Slow Productivity: The Lost art of Accomplishment without Burnout by Cal Newport
I have appreciated all of Cal Newport's books and this is his latest. I like the suggestions to not multitask and to prioritize. This book shares some great tips to successfully manage the day to day requirement and tasks without burnout.

Executive Presence 2.0: Leadership in an Age of Inclusion by Sylvia Ann Hewett
With all of my work supporting inclusion and belonging, I was pleased to see this revised book with many tips in this area! I greatly appreciate her personal stories of when she was successful with her executive presence and when she was not, and the lessons she gained from both. This updated version of the Executive Presence book shares the qualities essential to leadership in our fast-changing, post-pandemic world.

Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection By Charles Duhigg
Having read other books by Duhigg including “Habits” and “Better” I like his flow and tone. I enjoyed listening to this book that shares the behaviors and approaches of those that are "super-communicators.” I have tried to apply some of these tips in my daily interactions.

Wrong Fit, Right Fit

Inclusion and Belonging

The more I work with folks in historically under-represented communities, the more I want and need to learn about their struggles and successes.

Uncomfortable Conversations with a Jew By Emmanuel Acho and Noa Tishby
I recently listened to this book and found it eye opening in helping me better understand the history of jews, Israel and Palestine. I had very little knowledge about this religion or these countries. With the war expanding with Israel for now over one year, I found this book very helpful as I watch the news daily for these updates.

White Women; Everything You Already Know About Your Own Racism and How to Do Better By Jackson & Roa
I listened to this book as it was required reading for a DEI book club that I belong to. The book was extremely honest about white supremacy and the impact on people of color. If you want to better understand the impact of white woman, please read this book!!

Inclusion on Purpose

What books did you most enjoy in 2023? Leave a comment.

TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK. WHAT BOOKS DID YOU READ AND RECOMMEND IN 2023? I SPENT A LOT OF TIME WRITING THIS BLOG, SO IF YOU ENJOYED IT, PLEASE CONSIDER SHARING, AND LEAVE A COMMENT OR QUESTION AT THE BOTTOM. I’D REALLY APPRECIATE IT!

Check out my other recommended books on:

Favorite Books on Positive Psychology
Favorite books on Coaching
Favorite books on Leadership
Favorite books on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

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About the Author:
Sarah Scala is a senior talent management leader and executive coach with 20+ years of experience providing organization development, change management, and leadership development solutions for diverse global and local industries. She is a collaborative consultant, coach, and educator supporting the performance transformation of executives, leaders, and teams. Sarah is a methodical, results-driven leader recognized for helping clients reach their highest potential, increase revenue, reduce turnover, elevate business profitability, build competencies, and improve performance.